Supply chain management systems oversee the flow of information, materials, and finances from manufacturer to wholesaler to retailer to consumer. One of the most important goals of supply chain management systems is to decrease inventory without decreasing the ability to provide goods when needed. Accurately tracking inventory and the movement of goods or items and providing this information “upstream” (to a company's suppliers) and “downstream” (to a company's customers) allows parties in the supply chain to decrease inventory by better managing current resources and by better predicting future needs.
Radio frequency identification (RF-ID) is a technology that leverages electromagnetic or electrostatic coupling to allow items to be tracked electronically without requiring direct contact or line-of-sight scanning of the items. Typical RF-ID systems consist of an antenna, a reader, and a tag that may be attached to an item to be tracked. The antenna uses radio frequency waves to activate the tag. The activated tag transmits data back to the antenna that is subsequently interpreted by the reader. The data may be used to identify and track the item.